ASHLAND —
It was a warm night on Ashland’s riverfront Monday, but a blast of cool classic rock out of Canada kept the folks there happy in spite of the heat.
Bachman & Turner kicked off the 2012 Summer Motion concert series with a stellar that included some of the most recognizable FM radio hits of the 1970s — songs that remain staples on classic-rock and oldies radio to this day.
The band — known in its heyday as Bachman-Turner Overdrive, or BTO for short, but unable to use that name now for legal reasons — opened up with one of its better-known numbers, “Roll On Down the Highway,” and, two songs later, kicked into the hard-rocking title from track from its multi-platinum “Not Fragile,” bassist/vocalist Fred Turner’s throaty growl of a voice sounding every bit a robust as it did nearly 40 years ago.
Despite losing the “Overdrive” from its name, the group’s current lineup includes the two principals from BTO’s salad days — Turner and guitarist/singer/songwriter Randy Bachman. Turner sang lead on hits like “Let it Ride,” while Bachman took the mic for classics such as “Takin’ Care of Business,” the group’s signature song, and “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.”
Before forming BTO, Bachman was a founding member of another hugely popular Canadian rock act, the Guess Who. As a nod to his days with that group, B&T cranked out a hard-rocking version of “American Woman” with Turner standing in for Burton Cummings on lead vocals.
Bachman told the crowd he felt extremely fortunate to have been a part of two bands that achieved as much success at the Guess Who and BTO. He also said it felt good to be reunited with Turner after the two had been apart “forever.”
Bachman also tipped his hat to all the fans who brought record albums — yes, actual vinyl albums — for he and Turner to sign.
Tony Stephens of Ashland was one of them. He managed to get both musicians’ John Hancocks on his copy of their most recent album, “Bachman & Turner.”
Stephens also said he got to hang out with the two for about 45 minutes at the Ashland Plaza Hotel prior to the show.
Stephens, 51, said he’d been a fan of the group’s music “forever.”
That wasn’t the case with Joe Gilbert, 33, of Catlettsburg.
“They were a little before my time,” he said, adding he was still looking forward to the show.
Miles Newman, 54, of Kenova, said he was a long-time BTO fan, but, more importantly, he said, the concert provided him and his wife, Tammy, with something fun to do to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
The Midnight Riders, an Allman Brothers tribute band out of Nashville, opened Monday’s show.
Attendance numbers for Monday’s concert were not available, but the crowd appeared to be a bit sparse. Some members of the festival committee speculated that folks might have been scared off by the hot weather. However, once the sun set, the temperature at Veterans Riverfront Park dipped into the mid-80s, and, with the relatively low humidity, it was actually fairly pleasant.
Summer Motion continues tonight with the up-and-coming country act the Eli Young Band headlining. The show begins at 7 p.m. with opening act Shane Thomas, who will be followed onstage at 8 by Mockingbird Sun. Eli Young Band is scheduled to take the stage at 9:15 p.m.
KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (
0606) 326-2654.
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Takin' care of business on the riverfront
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